Fire Zouaves: A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Poised at the foot of Henry House Hill, the Eleventh New York Infantry, best known as the First Fire Zouaves, may never have seen Johnston’s troops as they gathered at the ridge’s crest, but Johnston’s men could not miss the Yankees. Advancing up the slope, the 950 or so Northerners were a colorful lot. Sporting dark blue waistcoats accented in red and gold trim, bright red blouses, flowing crimson bloomers with blue piping and white spats, all capped off by a red fez, these warriors were the height of mid-nineteenth-century military haute couture.

Double Yoi. I’d tell you what Rutkow’s source for this description is, but he neglected to note it.

I know, I go on and on about the uniform of the 11th NY Fire Zouaves at Bull Run, including here, here, here, and here. To recap, despite numerous, even eyewitness accounts to the contrary, the regiment’s enlisted men did not wear red pants during the battle. In fact, at no time were red pants ever a part of their uniform, though officers wore red pants of the chasseur pattern. But don’t take my word for it:

Above is a photo of the 11th NY Zouave uniform of Private Francis E. Brownell of Company A, on display at Manassas National Battlefield (thanks to Jim Burgess at the park). Notice the color (gray-blue), the name of Brownell’s New York fire company on his belt, and his red fireman’s jersey. This is the same uniform Brownell was wearing on May 23rd, 1861, when he accompanied his colonel Elmer Ellsworth into Alexandria’s Marshall House hotel to pull down a secession banner flying from the building and visible through a glass from the White House. As Ellsworth descended the stairs with the flag he was killed by a shotgun blast fired by the hotel’s proprietor, James Jackson. Brownell, who was with Ellsworth, quickly shot Jackson in the face, then drove his saber bayonet through his body.

Ellsworth became a dead hero in the North, mourned by his friend Abraham Lincoln. Jackson received similar posthumous honors in the south. Brownell became a living celebrity, whose photo, complete with Ellsworth’s blood stained banner, became a popular item.

Brownell left the unit before First Bull Run, accepting a commission in the 11th US Infantry, and in 1877 he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his action at the Marshall House. You’ll find his death notice here.

As you can read on this great websiteon the 11th, the regiment’s worn-out, gray-blue Zouave uniforms were grudgingly exchanged for standard union blue jackets and pants before First Manassas. Many men continued to wear their distinctive red firemen’s shirts, and some may have worn red fezes, though the official uniform headgear as seen with Brownell was a kepi with company insignia and “1Z” for First Zouaves. I think this image of the regiment fighting alongside the 69th New York Militia probably gives a good idea of what they looked like on the field at First Bull Run.

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11 responses

21072008

Mike Peters(23:50:18) :

Harry,

Lt. George Fergus of the iith NY tells a slightly different story of Ellsworth’s demise than does Brownell’s NY Times obit.

The NY Times claim that Ellsworth, Lt. Winser, the regimental chaplain, Brownell & several privates went to the roof, where Ellsworth cur down the flag & then the group descended with Elmer in the lead. The obit also says that Ellsworth took both barrels.

According to Lt. Fergus, Ellsworth posted one of his escorts at the front door of the Marshall House, another on the first floor & a third at the foot of the stairs. Brownell was stationed on the third floor. Ellsworth went to the roof, took down the flag & descended the stairs alone.

From “Reminiscences of Chicago during the Civil War” comes the following based on Lt. Fergus’ account:

“He secured the rebel flag, & in descending the stairs, which occupied 3 sides of a stairway hall, he heard a noise, immediately followed by a shot. Hastening down to ascertain the cause, he came around a turn just in time to receive the second charge of of a double-barreled shotgun in the hands of James W. Jackson, the landlord. It was aimed at Brownell, who had knocked the gun up. The first charged, also meant for Brownell, entered the casing of the door at the foot of the stairs. Brownell then shot Jackson, who was crazed with drink, having been on a spree for several days.”

Lt. Fergus was “present at the time with the regiment outside the hotel.” According to Fergus, the story was repeated many times by Brownell, the only witness to the incident.

This is s regiment definitely in need of a regimental. It housed some colorful & interesting characters, outside of Brownell & Ellsworth. Lt. Col Noah “Pony” Farnham, who led the group at Bull Run & Crimean War vet & Surgeon Charles A. DeVilliers, just to name a couple.

[…] undecided. The fireman’s shirt this fellow is wearing is a little different from that of Francis Brownell, on display at MNBP – the belt is different too, but I think each fire company had their […]

[…] Jeez Louise. I won’t go into what the 11th New York Infantry, Ellsworth’s Fire Zouaves did and did not wear and when they did and did not wear it. Click on “Zouaves” in the tag cloud at the bottom of the right hand column of this page and you’ll find lots of articles on the topic. The most definitive one is here. […]

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!